SCP-3653

Experiment Log:

Experiment 1: Determine primary effect of SCP.
Procedure: Class C-592 is intentionally allowed to keep her instance of SCP-3653 and is also allowed to return to her normal routine for one year.
Result: At the end of the year, C-592 expressed confusion when provided with a 365-day calendar. She requested that her journal be retrieved and pointed out that the researchers involved with this experiment had in fact spoken with her on several of the non-existent days. The researchers had no memory of doing so. Subject was formally informed that a year only has 365 days, and allowed to return to her normal routine. Instance of SCP-3653 incinerated.

Experiment 2: Determine whether the extra days are imagined or experienced.
Procedure: Class C-625 is intentionally allowed to keep his instance of SCP-3653, and is instructed to have written conversations with researcher Dr. Green in his journal on the "non-existent" days. (To avoid prematurely confusing C-625, he was simply instructed to gather notes in the fifth and sixth weeks of each month).
Result: At the end of the year, C-625 handed in his journal, despite confusion stemming from his insistence that there were still two weeks left before the end of the year. The subject was informed that a year only has 365 days. The subject then returned to his normal routine. Instance of SCP-3653 incinerated.

The following is transcribed from the journal.

Dr. Green: Please state today's date.

C-625: Today is January 36th, 20██. Why are we doing this?

Dr. Green: This is an exercise to determine whether information from the fifth and sixth weeks of each month can be preserved into the first day of the month afterward.

C-625: O.K. What SCP are we testing? Is this journal the SCP?

Dr. Green: If I explained to you what the SCP was, it would lose its effect.

Dr. Green: At this point, C-625 cursed and demanded I tell him "what the big deal is". Please ensure that you've written down your response, instead of merely saying it.

C-625: Can we be done for today?

Dr. Green: Please write down your birthday, and then we can conclude the session.

C-625: 3-42-1984

C-625's birthday is on file as 3-23-1984. Handwriting analysis confirms that Dr. Green did write in the journal on several occasions, despite maintaining no memory of doing so.²

Above cover entry is not to be altered without O5 approval.

Item #: SCP-3653

Object Class: Keter

Special Containment Procedures: Due to its nature, SCP-3653 cannot be conventionally contained. Four times per year, 1200 D-class personnel scheduled for termination are to be selected, launched into space aboard a standard Foundation cruiser, and accelerated to at least 0.9999c³.

This containment procedure utilizes time dilation to stave off the broader effects of this increase.

Description: SCP-3653 is a hostile 4th-dimensional entity which partially consumes the ability of sapient beings to experience time. The portion of experienced time consumed by the entity has been steadily increasing for as long as records exist.

Methods for reversing the damage done by SCP-3653 are unknown, though research is ongoing.

Methods to destroy SCP-3653 are unknown, though research is ongoing.

This constant rate of consumption allows for astronomical measurements and seasonal changes to remain in sync with the 365 day calendar, for those who are not inoculated. The removal of roughly two weeks from the end of each month is an artifact of the way time is measured, and does not reflect actual "missing weeks."

The calendar described in the cover entry, hereby SCP-3653-1, creates a mnestic effect for the person observing it, if observation happens on January 1st. This effect prevents SCP-3653 from consuming any of the person's experienced time, and allows the viewer to experience the full 527-day year. 38,275 copies of SCP-3653-1 are printed and distributed each year on December 44 by The Foundation, in order to ensure that some amount of people each year remain aware of the threat posed by SCP-3653. Informing the affected person that there are only 365 days in a year will cancel out the effect of SCP-3653-1 and render the person susceptible to SCP-3653.

Any person who is not under the protection of SCP-3653-1 will still experience the "extra time", however they will retain no memory of doing so, as the experimentation in the cover entry suggests.

It is for this reason that mentioning the amount of days in each year to an O5 is strictly forbidden, as O5s follow the 527-day calendar by default.

It is regretful that the cover entry prescribes the incineration of most of the copies, and that many of the L4 researchers voluntarily dispose of their copies. However, nothing can be done about this.

Allowing the true nature of SCP-3653 to become common knowledge may lead to panic among the staff. Allowing more people to be protected by SCP-3653-1 increases the risk of them giving dangerous and inimical SCPs more time by extension.

Additionally, if we allowed knowledge of this issue to become widespread, there is a chance that more people would request protection from the entity. If we shield too many people from it, even slightly more than are shielded today, it may notice our feeble barrier and directly attack it.

We do not believe it would stand up to such an assault.

It is the opinion of the majority of the O5 council that the incineration passage lends credibility to the non-restricted containment procedures. We consider this an acceptable loss.

- O5-6